According to an interview given to the Sunday Times, Vodafone’s Guy Laurence said Ofcom was “taking leave of its senses” after Ofcom confirmed it will allow the market’s largest player, Everything Everywhere, to utilise unused spectrum before the UK’s 4G auctions to allow an early roll-out of the service.
Laurence said Ofcom “is all but agreeing to grant the largest player in the market a head start on the next-generation of mobile internet services”, after Ofcom invited rival operators to respond to 4G auction rules. The deadline for Vodafone to make an official complaint is this Thursday.
Vodafone further expressed grievances at last week’s decision, stating Everything Everywhere would now be free to prevent other major operators from building faster networks through litigation, considering its early market advantage. Ofcom had ruled its decision to allow Everything Everywhere an early roll-out would not distort competition, but a Vodafone spokesperson further stated the company was very concerned about the negative impact Ofcom’s ruling would have on competition in the UK.
Major competitor O2 has so far refused to comment on the issue.
